


A Crap Ton of Firewhiskey and One Good Cry Later

by Miraphina Atherton (mew_tsubaki)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Older Characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 04:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11502072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mew_tsubaki/pseuds/Miraphina%20Atherton
Summary: In all his life, Teddy Lupin has had no good loves. It's all been bad. And when one "calm" night at home brings a fun ear to his side, it all goes downhill from there. Maybe.





	A Crap Ton of Firewhiskey and One Good Cry Later

**Author's Note:**

> The Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. Read, review, and enjoy!

Oh, Merlin. Forget all of it, Teddy. Forget Victoire, forget Lily, forget that strange Dominique-then-Lucy-then-Rose-then-Roxie-then-Molly phase. Forget it all. You're a man, in charge of himself. You should be on top of the world. You should be able to forget the tumultuous feelings raging inside you.

Well, hell. That never worked out for you, did it?

You're an adult, for crying out loud. You ought to be in control. Look at your parents. Your father—your _father_ —was in control at this age, even! And he had a lot more problems to deal with than you do: friends murdered, friends incarcerated or missing…his "furry little problem." Then, years later, the age difference with your mother…

And even good old Mum! Sure, she was an eccentric, vivid witch. No one will ever forget her; Nymphadora Lupin left her mark on the world and on the hearts of those she loved. She had the struggle of being an Auror, of being on "constant vigilance" (or so you're told by your godfather), and of being the one to keep everyone in the right spirits. Because face it: Without a quick impression of someone or a bit of slapstick, wars will never be won.

So will yours ever be won? Maybe if she were here, Mum might be the only one to understand your heartbreak. But here's the difference—Mum knew whom she liked. She _loved_ him and _married_ him (and aren't you so lucky).

But you… Maybe…

Okay, okay, let out that sigh. But you should really admit it by now. Maybe it's not the girls you've dated. Maybe it's _that_ you dated girls. Maybe you shouldn't be forced to think what the bloody hell is running through the female mind every ruddy second of every _ruddy_ minute of every _ruddy_ hour of every _goddamn ruddy day_.

…

Okay, breathe again. There's no use getting so angry about things…

Ah, speaking of great timing. Yes, high five Freddie, exchange wild grins, and conjure up a fresh set of firewhiskies. You don't have any siblings, and, when you were old enough, you really lived with Grandma Meda and then you lived on your own once you were an adult. So any Weasley or Potter is good company…but, right now, you're glad to have the joker of the family. No way do you want any of the girls as your drinking buddy, and James and Al are still angry with you for _Lily_ dumping _you_. Yeah… Louis and Hugo are too indifferent and young at mind to bother much with you, and Freddie… Good question. Why _is_ Freddie so chummy after you led a failed relationship with his _twin_?

"I understand why you left her," he answers with a guilty laugh.

You do a double-take. What?

"No, really," Freddie states, and you watch him sip at the bottle's neck. His lips curve up in a smile, and you can't help but smile back. "Roxie can be such a pain. I should know—I practically share a brain with her." He rolls his eyes, and you shake your head, and it's as if you found your best mate in the whole wide world.

Naturally, a crazy night ensues.

What started out as an escape into the typically forgotten sitting room at Harry's turned into a memory-sharing session which turned into a heartrending pouring-out of all you two ever felt. As if tonight couldn't get any weirder.

First it was all "Oh, hey, Teddy, glad to see someone's still sane enough to escape Aunt Ginny's insistence of playing charades" and mischievous half-grins.

Then it was "Yeah, I remember it, too. Roxanne was so happy you asked her out." He pointed at you and squinted. "I'll have you know that she was shooting little fireworks spelling out 'Mrs. Roxanne Lupin' into the air in both our rooms in the beginning."

Your response? "She was eighteen then!"

He snickered. "And you were twenty-eight." And somehow he wins the argument, even though you don't really know what the argument was.

But then came the best for last. "I set myself on a disaster track," you tell him, and all that hurt you've been feeling lately comes right up to the surface. Shit—if he pats your arm, you're sure to start crying. Some wizard you are.

"No, it wasn't a disaster track," he cooes (really?).

You give him a look.

"…so maybe it was."

You sigh and run a hand through your hair which is currently mixed. It's the color of the firewhiskey, of the empty bottles at your feet, of Freddie's sepia eyes, and of the dark woodgrain on the Potters' mantle. So un-Teddy.

"Mate, you've got to lighten up…"

"Why should I? I kept telling myself, for some unbeknownst reason, that maybe the next Weasley will be the One." You hang your head and then decide to lean back on the couch and stare at the ceiling. "And Molly was the last one. Not the 'one,' just the last. And I'm through your cousins," you finish with a dark laugh and, dammit, your eyes are so wet now because it feels as though there's no hope left in this world for you. Maybe you should take up the hermit-like trade of a wandmaker…

Freddie kicks his legs up on the arm of the couch and leans back into you, obviously tired (and drunk as hell—good thing you two aren't flying, otherwise you'd have to be the desinate- dissinate- desimate- _designated_ flier…). He closes his eyes, and you grunt like a little child, wishing he'd keep his eyes open and at least _pretend_ as though he were listening.

"Maybe those girls just chewed me up and spat me out…"

"Maybe you were in need of a new Weasley," he says as though it's nothing.

You lean over him and observe him. Watch for any traces that tell you he's teasing. Oh. No such luck. Looks as though this one is encouraging you. You lean just a little closer, and you can smell the firewhiskey on his breath, but this is so _tempting_ —

"Oh, stop dawdling already," he grouses, and an arm snakes around your neck, and all that wondering you've been doing is suddenly tossed out the window as you note yes, _this_ is the experience you've been yearning. Go figure only another wizard could satisfy it.

And somehow, in the heat of passion and emotions, you are released, because no, you're _not_ some bloody screw-up. You're Teddy, and you're a damn good Auror, and, judging by the way this creature in your lap groans, a damn good snogger, as well.

At some point—you don't remember when—it comes out that you've been wondering this for a while. And he surprises you and spills that he'd been jealous of his sister and even of you before he realized he'd wanted to be simultaneously close to and far from you. But the proximity won out, and you've never felt so human (so vulnerable) before. And finally you are both just exhausted from the touching and the kissing that it's _he_ who holds you in his arms, and then you drift off to the most peaceful sleep you've had in a very long while.

Day breaks. Birds chirp. The house is quiet, but it smells like a hearty breakfast, and your stomach growls, and you look at the weight on your chest. Ah. Freddie's still here…

Oh, Merlin. Freddie's _still here_.

You gently sit up and look around you. Okay, you two appear to have been left undisturbed… Yeah, that's right. You left your jacket over by the door. Someone would've had to tread on it to get into the room. You chance a look down at him, and he starts to wake. It's funny… You never thought how this would look. He doesn't look "delicate" as girls do. He's very male and just…Freddie. You slowly grin.

That doesn't bother you one bit.

But as you two really get a hold of your surroundings, you feel glad that you two didn't do anything possibly regrettable last night. A bit of snogging and some groping here and there is one thing, but _that_ … Eh, who knows? Whatever the appropriate moment, it wasn't for last night. But last night was pretty perfect for what it was.

Ginny calls up to you and tells you and the others to come down for breakfast. Oh, wow. No one even asked about Freddie's early disappearance from the family get-together last night…

Both of you fix your rumpled clothing, and he snickers again. You run a hand through your hair, which is half its normal (for you, at least) turquoise and half that lovely brown.

"You look a sight," he laughs as he reaches for his jumper.

"And you have lovely bed hair, too," you grumble, but there are no hard feelings. In fact, there are only very positive ones.

Freddie watches you, and then you fix your gaze on him. A silent secret passes between you two, because you both know this will work. Somehow, somewhere…something tells you this will work. But you both understand that this will be something new to the family…and you've broken your fair share of Weasley–Potter hearts… He hooks a finger with yours, and it's not as though you look _gay_ (not that the term ever bothered you before) but that you look happy and feel that all's right with the world again.

You hesitate and then decide, _To hell with it_ , and lean down to give him a light, sweet peck on the lips.

His lips curl up at the ends in a sultry, seductive way (who knew?), and he smirks. "See? You just needed a new Weasley."

And, forgoing your normal self-restraint, you bend down for another quick snog just to wipe that devilish grin off his face. Okay, so there. Enough snogging for now. You're both hungry, and there will be plenty of time for this romance to flourish.

Ha, you're finally getting the hang of life. You walk downstairs all calm and casual, because inside you're realizing that you can't plan every little thing. You are starting to live for the moment. Good for you! That's…

So un-Teddy.

But Freddie is the only one who doesn't seem to mind.

**Author's Note:**

> 8D This came out soooo much better than I originally thought it would! And, to think, this all came about from a joke I made in chapter one of my fic, Shadowmen. B) Sweet. XD But yeah. Teddy seems to have great chemistry with Freddie—and I couldn't be happier.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and please review!
> 
> -mew-tsubaki ;D
> 
> 2017 note: Ahh, the 2010 version of this used some old, FV-like formatting that just doesn't work anymore on FFN, so I edited it, but I'm still plenty happy with this fic. Tbh, I ship Teddy with just about anyone (except for Victoire; I like giving them a more lovers-turned-friends vibe). :]


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